A Perfect World

This morning I read this comment on this recent blog post. Of course, it was anonymous.

Gay marriage? Children being had? We may be preachimg to teh converted here, but please see the link >

http://about-orphans.blogspot.com

Many thanks.

Typos aside, I found this comment to be interesting because 1) I didn't really get the point behind it (at first), and 2) the link provided lead me to some places I'd never been before:

About orphans
People are giving away their children, without any accountability to them.
IVF/ART newborns at risk from inherited diseases.

The URL for last page I linked to is actually www.why-gays-are-unfit-parents.blogspot.com. Quite telling.

Each page contains a multitude of other links. I haven't clicked on all the links yet. I'm not sure if I will, to be honest. But I do like to be informed. I like to hear other points of view. Despite the blatant bigotry of the URL mentioned above, I'm still interested in what these links are telling me. I feel like I understand a little more about this article's point about birthright.

I'm not going to rehash the contents of the links I've provided above. I leave that to all of you if you're interested in reading them. But I do feel the need to respond to this anonymous commenter.


Anonymous:

We are not living in a perfect world. We are not perfect people. And there is no perfect answer for any issue. All we can do is our best.

But for the sake of keeping the dream alive, here's my vision.

In my perfect world, consenting adults would be able to marry each other. They would be able to form families. In this world, no child would be unwanted. There'd be no need for the foster system and the cycle of abuse it perpetuates. There'd be no need for abortion. Every child, whether conceived the traditional way or through ART, would be welcomed and enveloped in love.

None of us would ever be sick or have to suffer. But if we had to be sick, everyone who needed quality health care would have access to it. There would be no infertility, no cancer, no Alzheimer's. There would still be death, but it would be painless and peaceful.

We would all have enough money to pay our bills and take care of ourselves and go on at least one fun vacation a year. We'd all have access to a college education; we'd all be able to get a decent, fulfilling job. We'd all work hard to take care of our planet so that there would be a safe place for future generations to live.

In my perfect world, there would be no hatred. No selfishness. No judgment. There would be people of all races and religions and sexual orientations and philosophies. There would be no need for war. We'd be able to sit down and talk out our issues with other countries instead of dropping bombs.

We'd be able to walk down the street in the worst neighborhood without being afraid. We'd be able to see our similarities and embrace our differences. And we'd be able to really understand what it means to love and accept others.

Anonymous, if you're reading, you might be bewildered by all this. You may wonder how posting a simple link got me to this point. Well, I just want you to know that some of the arguments you linked to make an assumption that this is a perfect world. And while I love dreaming of a utopian fantasy, I also know that the literal translation of "utopia" is "no place." It just doesn't exist.

But that doesn't mean that the good things in the world need to be taken away. I understand where you're coming from, I think, but passing Prop 8 will needlessly make this world more imperfect than it already is. There is already so much injustice in the world; how can we knowingly contribute to it?

Aside from electing Barack Obama as our new President, voting no on Prop 8 is the best thing we can do right now for the future of this country. Yes, this is just my opinion, but I believe it is founded on the principles of compassion. I also believe that a yes vote on Prop 8 is ultimately rooted in bigotry.

I have said all this before. And I'm sorry to keep repeating myself. But I can't help myself - this is very much on my mind. Our world stands to change forever on Election Day.

I'd like to be proud of California for saying no to bigotry.